Here's $4m for starters but who's going to match us?

By Louise Schwartzkoff

29 August 2007 — 12:49am

ONE of Sydney's richest families has challenged the city's affluent to open their wallets for the arts.

A showcase for contemporary art will be built at the Art Gallery of NSW thanks to a $4 million donation from the late Franco Belgiorno-Nettis, the founder of the construction and engineering company Transfield. Before his death last year aged 91, the Italian-born philanthropist pledged $4 million to support contemporary art at the gallery.

The money is the largest single donation in the gallery's history and yesterday, Mr Belgiorno-Nettis' son Guido urged wealthy families and individuals to match it, saying the Sydney gallery trailed way behind its contemporaries in Melbourne and Brisbane.

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"I am appalled to learn that (the Belgiorno-Nettis donation) is the single greatest dollar figure given to this gallery," he said.

" That should not be the case. There are many wealthy families in this city and this country and there is no reason why they can't match it."

Gallery director Edmund Capon backed the call and said he hoped the donation would set a trend.

The money will be used to convert 1000 square metres of storage space into a new gallery, Mr Capon said. As a result, it will be able to display more than 10 per cent of its contemporary art collection instead of the 1 per cent now shown.

"It [the donation] is a wonderful demonstration of commitment, support and belief in an institution," Mr Capon said yesterday. "We needed to expand our contemporary galleries and Franco loved contemporary art. So it was an obvious thing that the allocation of these funds should enhance the growth and evolution of contemporary art at the gallery."

The new space will be named the Franco & Amina Belgiorno-Nettis & Family Contemporary Galleries and could be open as early as 2009.

Amina Belgiorno-Nettis, Franco's widow, said her husband would have been "very happy" with the expansion plans.

"I can see him in my mind now and the grins would be coming into his eyes with pride and satisfaction," she said.

The Belgiorno-Nettis family has a long association with the Art Gallery of NSW. Mr Belgiorno-Nettis, a founding patron of the Biennale of Sydney, served as a gallery trustee from 1974.

Guido Belgiorno Nettis has a trustee since the beginning of the year, and his brother Luca, is on the president's council.